Hunter Schanz and Spencer Crawford line a pie pan with dough during Ms. Cashs R2 Foods class.
Hunter Schanz and Spencer Crawford line a pie pan with dough during Ms. Cash’s R2 Foods class.

Ms. Cash’s Recipes: Thanksgiving Dinner

Hunter Schanz and Spencer Crawford line a pie pan with dough during Ms. Cash’s R2 Foods class.
With Thanksgiving Break approaching, many Manual families are looking forward to a week of relaxation, family, and food. Ms. Cash’s Foods classes have been preparing by learning how to make many classic Thanksgiving dishes in the food labs at Manual. These dishes include turkey, stuffing, and casserole, as well as chess, apple, and pumpkin pie. Ms. Cash’s recipes all come from Alton Brown, but have been edited by her to include more common ingredients and portion sizes sufficient to feed a class full of teenagers.

Below are the recipes used by the foods classes to create an authentic Thanksgiving dinner.

Broccoli Cheese Rice Casserole
1 stick butter
8 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup flour
4 cups milk
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sea salt and a few cracks fresh black pepper
5 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
2/3 cup fresh parmesan cheese, shredded
6 cups cooked rice
4 cups cooked broccoli florets

1. Grease two 9×13-inch casserole pan. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large saucepan melt the butter over low heat; add garlic and sauté until fragrant. Whisk in flour and cook 3-4 minutes, whisking constantly. Slowly whisk in milk, mustard and season with salt and pepper, bring to a simmer 4 minutes, whisking occasionally. Add 4 cups of cheddar cheese and parmesan; stir until mostly melted; remove from heat.
3. Stir in rice and broccoli florets, pour into casserole pan, sprinkle remaining cup of cheddar cheese over top. Bake 30 minutes until bubbly and lightly golden on top. Allow to set 5 minutes before serving.

Classic Thanksgiving Dressing With Parsley, Sage, and Thyme
2 loaf crusty Italian or French bread, cut into ½-inch cubes
½ cup butter
4 onions, diced
4 celery sticks, diced
4 teaspoons parsley
2 teaspoons dried sage
2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 large eggs

1. Spread bread cubes in a single layer on two large sheet pans. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake bread until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees.
2. Meanwhile, heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and celery; sauté until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. In a large bowl, mix bread, vegetables, and remaining ingredients. Turn into two greased 9 X 13 baking dishes. Cover with foil and bake until steamy, 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake until crusty, 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately.

Mashed Potato
6 lbs white boiling potatoes, peeled and quartered
Kosher salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1-2 cup half-and-half
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1. Peel and cube potatoes.
2. Cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water for 15 to 20 minutes, until very tender.
3. Meanwhile, heat the butter and half-and-half in a small saucepan
4. Drain the potatoes
5. While still hot, placed the potatoes in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment
6. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the hot half-and-half mixture, the sour cream, 2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper
7. Mix until the potatoes are mashed but not completely smooth

Sweet Potato Casserole
6 cups mashed sweet potatoes
2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup milk
1 cup melted butter

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup flour
2/3 cup melted butter
2 cups chopped pecans

Preparation:

Peel and cube provided sweet potatoes. Boil in water until fork tender. Drain off excess water. Mash.

Combine first 6 ingredients. Pour into a buttered 1 ½ to 2-quart casserole dish. Mix remaining ingredients together and sprinkle over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, until hot and browned.

Scrumptious Apple Pie
1/3 to ½ cup sugar
¼ cup Gold Medal all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples (8 medium)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1. Roll one pastry round into the pie plate.
2. In large bowl, mix sugar, ¼ cup flour, the cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Stir in apples until well mixed. Spoon into pastry-lined pie plate. Cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over filling. Trim overhanging edge of pastry ½ inch from rim of plate.
3. Roll other round of pastry into 10-inch round. Place on top of apples; trim overhanging edge 1 inch from rim of plate. Fold and roll top edge under lower edge, pressing on the rim to seal; flute as desired. Cut 4-3 inch slits to vent pie.
4. Make simple syrup by dissolving ¼ c. sugar into ¼ c water until clear. Brush top of pastry. Sprinkle with additional sugar if desired.
5. Cover with foil and store in fridge with Mrs. Cash

Day 2:
6. Preheat oven to 425 and bake 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is brown to bubble through slits in crust, serve warm if desired.

Pumpkin Pie
1-15 oz can of pumpkin puree
½ c brown sugar
¼ c white sugar
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cloves
2 eggs
1 can evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 425.

In a large bowl combine pumpkin puree, brown and white sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and eggs. Mix thoroughly. Slowly add evaporated milk.

Crimp the edges of your crust then fill. Cover with foil and label. Leave in the fridge with Mrs. Cash

Bake on 425 for 15 minutes. Reduce temp to 350 and bake for an additional 40-50 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 2 hours. Serve or refrigerate.

Do not make until Day 2:

Cinnamon Whipped Cream
1 pint whipping cream
3-4 T white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Whip all ingredients for 5-7 minutes until fluffy.

Buttermilk Chess Pie
½ c. butter; softened
1 ½ c. sugar
2 T flour
Pinch of salt
4 eggs
1 t vanilla
2/3 c. buttermilk

Beat together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add Flour, salt, eggs, and vanilla. Beat well. Stir in buttermilk.

Crimp edges of pie crust in pan. Pour in filling.

Cover with foil and label with block number. Place in fridge. They will be cooked W2.

Bake at 350 for 45-50 mins or until set. Cool on wire rack.

North Roll Recipe
6 C flour
¼ c + 2 T sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
3 pkg rapid rise yeast
1 ½ c. milk
¾ c. water
6 T butter

Mix 3 c. of flour, sugar, salt and dry yeast in a large bowl.

Combine milk, water, and butter in a saucepan and cook over low heat until 120-130 F. Use a thermometer. The butter may not be completely melted and that is okay.

Slowly add liquid to dry ingredients and beat for 4 minutes. Stir in additional 3 c. of flour and beat for 4 more minutes.

Turn dough out on clean, lightly floured table. Knead until smooth and elastic (5-10 minutes)

Cover with towels and let rest for 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into 108 equal pieces. Roll each into a ball.

Label a large ziplock baggie and place dough in the baggie. Store in fridge until next class.

Day 2: Lightly grease 3 muffin pans with cooking spray. Place 3 dough balls in each muffin spot. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Bake 10-15 minutes until done.

Brined Turkey (Alton Brown: Good Eats)
Approximately 14 lb turkey
1 Gallon Vegetable Broth
1 C. Kosher Salt
½ C. Brown Sugar
1 T. Whole black peppercorns
1 ½ t All spice berries (1 t. dried all spice)
1 ½ t Crystallized Ginger

Mix ingredients together. Bring to Boil. Cool to room temp then refrigerate until cool. Mix Brine and 1 gallon of ice water in a 5 gallon bucket.

Remove giblets and gravy packet if applicable from neck and body cavity (check both ends). Submerge bird in broth mix. Let sit for 8-24 hours in a fridge or if it is cold outside (approx. 35 degrees Fahrenheit) you can leave in a cooler with a digital thermometer, just double check often to keep below 35 degrees, you may need to add more ice.

Remove bird from brine and rinse. Pat dry.

In a microwavable bowl place ½ onion, quartered apple, and 2-3 cinnamon sticks. Place a small amount of water in the bowl and microwave for 3-5 minutes or until the apple is soft.

When the apple mix is cool, stuff the body cavity with 2 rosemary sprigs, 2 sage stalks, the apple, cinnamon sticks, and onion.

Tuck the birds wings behind it’s neck (like it is sitting on the beach). Place the bird in a roasting pan with a rack on the bottom. Liberally coat the bird with canola oil. Take a large sheet of aluminum foil and fold into a triangle. Arrange the foil so that it makes a “breast plate” for the bird that leaves the legs exposed. Set the aluminum foil aside on the counter being careful to avoid cross contamination.

Move the oven rack to the lowest setting. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place bird in 500 degree oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, pull bird out, insert thermometer in the thickest part of the breast and set thermometer to 161 degrees then cover with “breast plate”. Reduce oven temp to 350 and continue cooking until breast meat reaches 161 degrees. Remove from oven and let rest covered for 30 minutes before carving.

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